WJulius R. Bates was born about 1837 in South Carolina, the son of Julius and Temperance (West) Bates. He married Lydia Hulsey.

J. R.'s family is shown in the 1840 Census living in Murray.

The 1850 Census listed the family as follows: Julius R., age 46; Lydia, age 45; Julius, age 13; Lothin (should be Luther), age 11; Benson, age 9; and Mary Bates, age 5. The family had moved from Murray to Cherokee County, Alabama around 1842.

In 1860 the family was still living in Cherokee County, Alabama. The Census listed them as: Julius R. Bates, age 55; Lydia Bates, age 53; J. R. Bates, age 23; L. H. Bates, age 21; Benson R. Bates, age 19.

Julius R. Bates, Jr., enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company E., 19th Alabama Infantry, August 13, 1861. Military records indicate that he was wounded at Corinth, Mississippi, and died there May 28, 1862. Whether his body was returned to Murray County is uncertain. A Confederate military marker in Bates Family Cemetery, Eton, Georgia, is inscribed with his birth date as 4-9-1837 and his death date as 5-28-1862.

Luther Hulsey Bates, according to a Confederate military marker in the Bates Family Cemetery, Eton, Georgia, was a Sergeant in Company E, 19th Alabama Infantry. Born 5-9-1839. Died 5-6-1862. Military records indicate that he was wounded in fighting at Shiloh, Tennessee and died there from his wounds on May 6, 1862.